A statement about why RightsCon 2026 will not take place in Zambia
Access Now announced the cancellation of RightsCon 2026 in Zambia just days before the event was set to begin, citing foreign interference as the primary reason. The organization had coordinated extensively with Zambian government agencies and had received official endorsements, but faced pressure from diplomats of the People’s Republic of China over the participation of Taiwanese civil society members. Despite efforts to resolve the issue, the event was abruptly cancelled without formal explanation from Zambian authorities.
- ▪RightsCon 2026 was cancelled days before it was scheduled to begin in Lusaka, Zambia, with over 2,600 in-person and 1,100 online participants expected.
- ▪Access Now attributes the cancellation to foreign interference, specifically pressure from diplomats of the People’s Republic of China over Taiwanese civil society participation.
- ▪The Government of Zambia had previously signed a memorandum of understanding with Access Now and issued a public endorsement of the event.
- ▪Zambian immigration officials informed arriving participants that the conference had been cancelled, despite no formal government announcement.
- ▪Access Now received only an informal and unclear communication from a senior Zambian official indicating the event would be cancelled or postponed.
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EVENT INFO A statement to our community about why RightsCon 2026 will not take place in Zambia May 1, 2026 • Event info • 7 min read EVENT INFO A statement to our community about why RightsCon 2026 will not take place in Zambia May 1, 2026 • Event Info • 7 min read RightsCon team Access Now team To our community, We are devastated to be writing to you instead of gathering together as planned and we know we’re not alone. The frustration and disappointment stemming from the loss of RightsCon 2026 is felt deeply by all of us, especially our partners in the region who worked tirelessly alongside our team. Following our April 29 announcement, we at Access Now, the host organization of RightsCon, believe it is important to be transparent about the context that led to the decision.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at RightsCon Summit Series.
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